The Shippensburg University Campus Farm is hosting a public celebration in honor of its 10-year anniversary on October 16, 2022. The event will feature a greenhouse raising, sponsored by Green League, the Student Government Association, and the Departments of Biology and Geography-Earth Science and will highlight the ShipComposts project, sponsored by the South Mountain Partnership.
Campus and community volunteers are needed to help with the greenhouse raising from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., followed by an open house from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Meet the goats and chickens, learn about composting and silviculture, enjoy farm-fresh snacks, and tour the edible forest! The Campus Farm is located at 203 Britton Road in Shippensburg, near the Burd Run stream.
The SU Campus Farm was established in 2012 and moved to its current location in 2014. It supports academic research and hosts a range of volunteers from local K-12 schools, as well as the surrounding community. The farm uses regenerative agricultural practices to provide healthy food without the use of pesticides or herbicides. More than half of the produce grown on the farm is donated to Shippensburg Produce and Outreach (SPO) to help community members in need.
As part of an effort to support the farm’s mission and the SU Campus Climate Commitment, students in the Enactus student organization envisioned the ShipComposts program in 2021. The project takes food waste produced at the university dining hall and turns it into compost for use on the Campus Farm. This improves soil health, fosters the growth of healthy produce, reduces food waste, and sequesters carbon. Project partners include the Center for Land Use and Sustainability (CLUS), the Campus Farm, SPO, and the Enactus and Green Leaguestudent organizations.
The ShipComposts initiative also features educational and outreach activities led by SU students both on campus and in the community. These activities have included a small-scale food waste assessment, hands-on composting demonstrations, and several educational events for university and K-12 students, as well as community members.
This project was financed in part by a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation. The grant was awarded through the South Mountain Partnership, with management oversight of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
We are a partner of the South Mountain Partnership, an alliance of organizations working to preserve and enhance the cultural and natural assets of the South Mountain Landscape in Central Pennsylvania. To learn more about the Partnership, please visit www.southmountainpartnership.org.
Additional funding support for ShipComposts has come from the GIANT Company and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful through their Healing the Planet grant, Procter & Gamble, Walmart, Volvo, and individual donations through the Shippensburg University Foundation.
